Category Archives: Donald Trump

Volodymyr Zelenskiy: ‘My White House invitation? I was told it’s being prepared’

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The TV comic turned maverick Ukrainian leader on Putin, power and Trump’s impeachment

What’s the difference between playing a president on screen and being one in real life? Not much, according to Ukraine’s Volodymyr Zelenskiy, the man who’s done both.

“It’s very similar,” he says, his compact frame engulfed by a green leather armchair in his opulent presidential office. Then he changes his mind: in fact, the real job lasts a whole five years, and comes with far greater challenges than can fit into one season of a television show. “It’s true there are more problems. They are catastrophic. They appear, I’m sorry to say, like pimples on an 18-year-old kid. You don’t know where they will pop up, or when.” The 42-year-old speaks in his native Russian, his expressive face switching from boyish amusement to tortured concern in a flash.

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Trump campaign sues CNN for ‘false’ statements about Russia and 2020 election – live

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  • Campaign files libel lawsuit seeking ‘millions of dollars’
  • Sanders reiterates that he believes his rival Biden can beat Trump
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Oof, that’s a gut-punch to the Trump campaign’s efforts to sue media outlets it doesn’t like over some articles......but not others....

Yet another Trump lawsuit against a news organization, but still no action against the NYT for story that accused Trump in so many words of the crime of tax fraud. That’s beginning to look like a confession, isn’t it? https://t.co/RJep7HRhIC

Mr. Trump did not offer an outright denial of the facts in the report, such as that the money he made during his decades in real estate came from tax schemes of dubious legality, the existence of records of deception in documenting the family’s financial assets, and that the beginning of the president’s so-called self-made fortune dates back to his toddler years when, by the time he was 3 years old, Mr. Trump earned $200,000 a year in today’s dollars from his father.

CNN’s media expert Brian Stelter says libel lawsuits like the one Donald Trump’s re-election campaign just filed against CNN, and prior suits vs the New York Times and the Washington Post won’t succeed and are just a political strategy.

Trump‘s war on the media enters the “performative lawsuit” phase—just in time for 2020. https://t.co/xmrNTzefJA

It’s the latest of a series of libel suits by the campaign aimed at media outlets’ opinion articles on issues linked to Russia. Over the last few weeks, the campaign has also sued the New York Times and the Washington Post, alleging similar motives.

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Trump attacks Biden’s cognitive health in possible general-election preview

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President says ‘there’s something going on’ with Democratic candidate in first public event since Super Tuesday

Donald Trump attacked Joe Biden’s cognitive abilities on Thursday night during an event in the former-vice president’s hometown that could set the tone for an ugly general election.

Appearing at a Fox News town hall in Scranton, Pennsylvania, Trump – who has faced repeated scrutiny over his own mental acuity – said there was “something going on” with Biden, in what may prove a rehearsal for Republican attacks during the presidential election.

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Pressure on Elizabeth Warren after Bloomberg drops out of Democrat race – live updates

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With Bloomberg’s departure, pressure is on third-placed Elizabeth Warren whose White House hopes have dwindled

Donald Trump Jr - who you feel is perhaps on somewhat thin ice when throwing out this kind of accusation - has just been tweeting out a Daily Caller ‘exclusive’ from yesterday about Hunter Biden. The son of the US president is suggesting that “It’s almost like the whole Biden family is entity dependent on Joe holding public office?”

It’s almost like the whole Biden family is entity dependent on Joe holding public office?

EXCLUSIVE: Hunter Biden touted connections in 2019 while pitching UCLA Law on letting him teach drug policy course | The Daily Caller https://t.co/P8wteom4tW

Slightly away from the election, Associated Press this morning have been running a story about visiting a shop selling unofficial President Donald Trump-themed merchandise in a suburban Philadelphia strip mall.

The Trump Store in Bensalem sells t-shirts, hats, beanies, and mugs with the president’s cartoon face - all designed to appeal to his biggest fans

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Biden triumphs, Sanders hits back and Warren fights on: how Super Tuesday unfolded – video report

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Bernie Sanders and Joe Biden emerged as the frontrunners for the Democratic presidential nomination after 14 states voted on Super Tuesday. While Biden won across more states, Sanders claimed the crucial victory in California. The results were a blow to fellow hopefuls Elizabeth Warren and Michael Bloomberg. Warren lost her home state of Massachusetts to Sanders while Bloomberg's big spending has failed to net the desired results

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Trump reportedly tells Taliban official ‘you are a tough people’ in first phone call

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Call with official whom Trump mistakenly called ‘leader of the Taliban’ is first direct exchange between a US president and insurgent leadership since 2001

Donald Trump has spoken by telephone to a senior Taliban official at a time when a row over prisoner exchanges and a fresh outbreak of violence jeopardised a historic US-Taliban peace agreement signed on Saturday.

The conversation between Trump and the head of the Taliban’s political office, Abdul Ghani Baradar, was the first direct exchange between a US president and the insurgent leadership since the US military intervention in Afghanistan began in 2001.

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Kim Jong-un sister condemns ‘frightened dog’ South Korea in first public statement

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Kim Yo-jong likens South Korea to ‘frightened dog barking’ after Seoul protested against Pyongyang’s live-fire military frill

The sister of North Korea’s leader, Kim Jong-un, has condemned South Korea as a “frightened dog barking” after Seoul protested against a live-fire military exercise by the North.

Kim Yo-jong’s comments – her first known official statement – came after Seoul’s security ministers expressed “strong concern” over Pyongyang’s firing of two short-range ballistic missiles on Monday – its first weapons test for more than three months.

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Senate Republicans appear to resume efforts to investigate Biden and family – live

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A new post-South Carolina poll shows Joe Biden pulling nearly even with Bernie Sanders.

According to the Morning Consult poll, Biden has climbed up to 26%, while Sanders has dropped slightly to 29%. Those numbers represent a 7-point bump for Biden and a 3-point slump for Sanders.

NEW: Biden at 26%, Sanders at 29% in First National Poll Since South Carolina Primary

While Biden saw no significant uptick in support among black voters, Hispanic voters became 9 points more likely to say they’d vote for him.https://t.co/6bwULwgjbd pic.twitter.com/pwRP9tSaOb

Here’s where the day stands as of now:

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Boris Johnson talks tough before US trade talks

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PM maintains that NHS is not on the table and animal welfare standards won’t drop

Boris Johnson has said he will drive a hard bargain as the UK outlined its negotiating objectives for the forthcoming trade talks with the US.

Despite fears that disagreements between London and Washington could obstruct the launch of the negotiations, a government press release claimed the prime minister wanted to open up opportunities for British businesses and investors while also ensuring the NHS was not for sale via the desired free trade agreement.

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Trump tweets praise for under-fire Mexican restaurant – but gets city wrong

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  • Sammy’s owner pictured at rally in ‘Latinos Love Trump’ hat
  • President promises visit when in Phoenix but grill near Tucson

The owners of a Tucson-area Mexican restaurant are fending off social media attacks after appearing in the VIP area at a Trump rally in Phoenix last month.

The Arizona Daily Star reported that a Facebook group posted a screenshot image from the rally that showed Sammy’s Mexican Grill co-owner Betty Rivas standing behind Trump, wearing a red cowboy hat emblazoned with “Latinos Love Trump”.

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Coronavirus: Matt Hancock says shutting down UK cities may become necessary – latest updates

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USA, Australia and Thailand report first deaths from coronavirus as two frontline doctors in China die and bans are put in place on large gatherings. Follow live news

A parent and child who attended the minor injuries unit at Sevenoaks Hospital in Kent on Saturday afternoon have been advised to self-isolate at home and call NHS 111 in case they require testing for the coronavirus.

The parent grew concerned when the child, who had been at school with pupils who recently returned from Italy, developed a mild temperature.

Our Sevenoaks Minor Injury Unit (MIU) has now closed for the evening and will be reopening as normal tomorrow morning.

We apologise for any inconvenience this may cause.

You can find the details of your nearest, alternative MIU here https://t.co/TjQ9dy665d pic.twitter.com/YmotgxTFLq

A “surveillance network” of GP practices in Scotland will test patients with coughs and fevers and submit samples, even if patients have not travelled to an area affected by coronavirus, as part of the Scottish government plans.

The measure described as an “early warning” system to alert health professionals to possible spread of the virus.

“Hospitals and GP surgeries will now conduct tests on some patients with coughs, fevers or shortness of breath - regardless of whether they have travelled to a place where the virus is known to be spreading.”

“Not everyone with flu will be tested, but this is a sensible step to take as a precautionary measure to give us an early warning of community transmission.”

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Coronavirus is bad enough – Trump’s cuts have made the danger far worse

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Our government is headed by an incompetent paranoid trying to wreck the institutions that could contain this deadly virus

This week the US stock market suffered its largest weekly loss since 2008, as cases of the novel coronavirus not explained by overseas travel or contact with a person known to be infected were reported in California, Oregon and Washington state. On Saturday, the first US death was reported.

Related: Trump fends off criticism of 'hoax' remark after first US coronavirus death

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Trump nominates John Ratcliffe for top intelligence officer post – as it happened

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  • This is the second try to name the Republican as DNI
  • Court ruled 2-1 to block Trump Remain in Mexico policy
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It’s been a busy day in US politics. Here’s a rundown of the top stories:

Trump is ad-libbing on the coronavirus at his rally in South Carolina, Oliver Laughland reports.

Trump is ad libbing significantly. Breaking off from prepared remarks on coronavirus to ask Graham and Scott to pass legislation that allows him to serve for 25 years

“Lets term limit ourselves at 25 years. Tim pass it in the senate with Lindsey. A 25 year term limit, please.”

We are doing everything in our power to keep the infection and those carrying the infection from entering the country. We have no choice. Whether it’s the virus that we’re talking about, or the many other public health threats, the Democrat policy of open borders is a direct threat to the health and wellbeing of all Americans.

Now you see it with the coronavirus… when you have this virus, or any other virus, or any other problem coming in, it’s not the only thing that comes in through the border… and we’re setting records at the border, we’re setting records, and now, just using this, important, so important.

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Self-belief surges as Trump’s conservative faithful plan four more years

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At the annual CPAC conference in Maryland, Republicans were in buoyant mood about the president’s re-election prospects

“Four more years!” the crowd chanted at Mike Pence, the vice-president. “Four more years!”

Not so long ago, under the shadow of investigations, impeachment and dismal approval ratings, Donald Trump’s re-election seemed a long shot. But at the biggest annual gathering of grassroots conservatives on Thursday, self-belief was surging and some were already looking ahead to what a second term might bring.

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Obama takes legal action over ‘misleading’ Republican attack ad on Joe Biden – live updates

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  • Vice-President Pence to take charge of US response to coronavirus
  • Poll shows widespread concerns about election security and integrity
  • UN chief Michelle Bachelet criticises Trump’s weakened environmental protection standards
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The US Dept. of Justice announced it had created a division tasked with denaturalizing immigrants.

The Denaturalization Section “underscores the department’s commitment to bring justice to terrorists, war criminals, sex offenders and other fraudsters who illegally obtained naturalization” officials said in a statement.

Denaturalizations have ramped up under the Trump administration: Of the 228 denaturalization cases that the department has filed since 2008, about 40 percent of them were filed since 2017, according to official department numbers.

According to the US Securities and Exchange Commission, actor Steven Seagal allegedly failed to disclose a promotional agreement related to cryptocurrencies.

The SEC alleges Seagal accepted $250,000 in cash and $750,000 worth of Bitcoiin2Gen (B2G) tokens in exchange for online promotion of the currency, including “posts on his public social media accounts encouraging the public not to ‘miss out’”.

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Trump says coronavirus spread not ‘inevitable’ – video

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Donald Trump has sought to play down the threat from coronavirus, saying the danger to Americans ‘remains very low’ and predicting that the number of cases diagnosed in the country, currently on 15, could fall to zero in a ‘few days’. In a press conference in Washington, the US president also announced he was placing the vice-president, Mike Pence, in charge of coordinating the US response to the coronavirus outbreak

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Trump campaign sues New York Times for libel over Russia story

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  • Suit alleges ‘extreme bias’ in knowingly publishing falsehood
  • Opinion piece titled ‘The Real Trump-Russia Quid Pro Quo’

Donald Trump’s re-election campaign said on Wednesday it had filed a libel suit against the New York Times accusing the newspaper of intentionally publishing a false opinion article related to Russian interference in the 2016 US election.

In an escalation of the Republican president’s long-running battle with the news media, campaign officials said the lawsuit was being filed in New York state supreme court, the state’s trial-level court.

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Will coronavirus trigger a global recession? | Jeffrey Frankel

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World economy’s prospects look bleak owing to Covid-19 outbreak and Donald Trump’s trade policy

At the start of this year, things seemed to be looking up for the global economy. True, growth had slowed a bit in 2019: from 2.9% to 2.3% in the US and from 3.6% to 2.9% globally. Still, there had been no recession and as recently as January, the International Monetary Fund projected a global growth rebound in 2020. The new coronavirus, Covid-19, has changed all of that.

Early predictions about Covid-19’s economic impact were reassuring. Similar epidemics – such as the 2003 outbreak of severe acute respiratory syndrome (Sars), another China-born coronavirus – did little damage globally. At the country level, GDP growth took a hit but quickly bounced back, as consumers released pent-up demand and firms rushed to fill back orders and restock inventories.

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